The Australian national flag flies over Parliament House in Canberra in this file image. A scheme by Chinese intelligence agencies to insert people into powerful positions to influence Australian politics has caused concern for Australia's peak domestic intelligence agency, said a report in the Weekend Australian. (Torsten Blackwood/AFP/Getty Images)

Australian Intelligence Identifies Local Politicians With Suspect China Ties

Saturday’s report comes after widespread media reports about efforts by China’s Communist Party to interfere with Australian politics as well as areas within the broader community – especially among the Chinese-Australian community.

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull on Thursday said he took reports that China’s Communist Party had sought to interfere in his country very seriously.

“Media reports have suggested that the Chinese Communist Party has been working to covertly interfere with our media, our universities and even the decisions of elected representatives right here in this building. We take these reports very seriously,” Turnbull said, according to Reuters.

The attention of Australian public over the past two weeks has been on the dealings between Australian Labor Party (ALP) senator Sam Dastyari and a Beijing-linked Chinese billionaire.

The federal government has called on Dastyari to resign because he allegedly warned Chinese Communist Party-linked Huang Xiangmo that his phone was likely being tapped by intelligence services, including those of the U.S. government.

The senator also received negative press recently over a 2016 speech when he publicly backed Beijing’s aggressive moves in the South China Sea. His comments, made while standing next to Huang, were contradictory to that of his party’s and the Australian government’s policy on the issue.

.@smh: An explosive tape recording reveals that Senator Sam Dastyari delivered a scripted, deliberate and detailed defence of China’s aggressive land grab in the South China Sea. #headsuppic.twitter.com/o817t0wJus

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